“He bent forward and picked up a little brazen cylinder” — illustration to Arthur Conan Doyle's “The Adventure of the Dancing Men” by Sidney Paget

[Victorian Web Home —> Arthur Conan Doyle —> Visual Arts —> Illustration —> Sidney Paget —> Next]

He bent forward and picked up a little brazen cylinder

Sidney Paget

1893

Photographic reproduction of ink or watercolor on paper

Illustration for Arthur Conan Doyle's “The Adventure of the Dancing Men,” p. 488.

See below for passage illustrated.

This comment seems a little strange: semi-automatic pistols have ejectors, since the force of the quickly burning gunpowder forces back the action, which ejects the used shell casing and, on its return forward, pushed a new cartridge into the chamber from the magazine below. Revolvers do not have such ejectors, and spent shell casings remain in the cylinder until manually ejected when one swings open the cylinder and removes the spent cartridge casings. After firing a few shots, the shooter would have no reason to empty the cylinder.

Formatting and text by George P. Landow. [You may use this image without prior permission for any scholarly or educational purpose as long as you (1) credit the Internet Archive and (2) link your document to this URL in a web document or cite the Victorian Web in a print one.]

Passage illustrated

"I rather think, Inspector Martin, that we have now exhausted all that this room can teach us. If you will kindly step round with me, we shall see what fresh evidence the garden has to offer."

A flower-bed extended up to the study window, and we all broke into an exclamation as we approached it. The flowers were trampled down, and the soft soil was imprinted all over with footmarks. Large, masculine feet they were, with peculiarly long, sharp toes. Holmes hunted about among the grass and leaves like a retriever after a wounded bird. Then, with a cry of satisfaction, he bent forward and picked up a little brazen cylinder.

"I thought so," said he, "the revolver had an ejector, and here is the third cartridge. I really think, Inspector Martin, that our case is almost complete." The country inspector's face had shown his intense amazement at the rapid and masterful progress of Holmes's investigation. At first he had shown some disposition to assert his own position, but now he was overcome with admiration, and ready to follow without question wherever Holmes led.

Bibliography

Doyle, Arthur Conan. The Original Illustrated Sherlock Holmes. “Reproduced from the original publication in The Strand Magazine with the classic illustrations by Sidney Paget.” Edison, New Jersey: Castle Books, [after 1954]. Internet Archive version of a copy donated by Friends of the San Francisco Library. Web.

Last modified 16 December 2013